03/12/09

Tibet: end the blackout

Dear friends,

Tibetans fighting the Chinese government's blackout are cut off from the rest of the world.
As we mark 50 years since the Dalai Lama escaped to India, a dark curtain is being pulled across Tibet -- foreign media detained and expelled, armed troops patrolling the streets, citizens imprisoned for political purposes. And yet many of these violations will not reach the outside world because communications have been cut off.

Without our immediate support, those who are cutting vital holes in the censorship curtain won't be able to alert the global media or other Tibetans to disappearances and the denial of human rights. Open communication is the best insurance to prevent future infringements from taking place.

Donate today, and help ensure that the flow of information so critical to the Tibetan people isn't shut off completely:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/tibet_stop_the_blackout

A modest donation can have a major impact:
  • For $90 we can fund transmission of an entire hour of the Voices of Tibet radio network, which provides unbiased news across the Tibetan plateau
  • $25 each from just 100 of us will support a new technology program that allows Tibetans to avoid censorship and safely communicate their plight with the world and each other
  • For $100 from 100 of us, we can help upgrade a radio transmitter just over the border in India, so that it can broadcast deeper into Tibet and China for one month.
Only freedom of information and dialogue among Tibetans and Chinese can help bring a lasting and peaceful solution to the Tibet problem. Click below now to make a contribution:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/tibet_stop_the_blackout

The situation is dire, and some reports suggest it's getting worse. The Chinese government has even cut phone networks to hinder grassroots organizing efforts by Tibetans and blocked their contact to the outside world – including to Chinese progressives. If we don't help Tibetans access new technologies that can breach the communications blockade, their plight could be silenced behind an impenetrable firewall.

Radio stations, bloggers, censorship avoidance technologies are like fog-lights out of the dark - and vital to the survival of the Tibetan people. Here is what the Dalai Lama says about Voice of Tibet radio – which your support today can help keep on the air:

"This is the only radio service in [the] Tibetan language with a Tibetan editorial board in charge allowing us [Tibetans] to comment on events of Tibetan interest from our perspective.... I would appreciate [...] if sympathetic organizations and individuals could help Voice of Tibet continue functioning..."

Donate today and help keep critical programs like this one alive – they've never been more urgently needed:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/tibet_stop_the_blackout

Freedom of information is vital to the survival of Tibetan culture and a key ingredient in securing Tibetan autonomy. It is also a key way to reach out to progressive Chinese in China, many of whom are looking for alternative perspectives and information. As a global community, we can help ensure access to vital information for Tibetans, Chinese and those of us who are beyond the veil.

With hope,

Brett, Ricken, Alice, Paul, Graziela, Ben, Paula, Luis, Pascal, Veronique, Iain, Milena and the rest of the Avaaz team

P.S. Consider donating to support organizations like Voice of Tibet at this crucial time. They need our support now more than ever. Even a modest donation will go a long way: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/tibet_stop_the_blackout

A year of escalating violence:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/011/2009/en
http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/china-amnesty-international-calls-chinese-authorities-open-tibet-2009030

UN Committee Against Torture Report covering the 2008 protests. Relevant section is pages 8-10:
www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/CAT.C.CHN.CO.4.pdf

Human Rights Watch report detailing those unaccounted for:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/09/china-hundreds-tibetan-detainees-and-prisoners-unaccounted

Reports of increased violence across Tibet to 2009:
http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-press-releases/a-great-mountain-burned-fire-chinas-crackdown-tibet

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02/15/09

Israel's progressives need our help today

Dear friends,


A shocking new far-right politics is taking hold in Israel and it threatens all we've worked for -- let's help progressives in Israel organise and build a fresh new voice for peace:

It's a dark day in the Middle East: the right-wing has won the most seats in Israel's elections, and racist extremist Avigdor Lieberman is now the kingmaker in forming the next government.[1] Lieberman and his fellow leaders are promising to bomb Iran, re-invade Gaza and abandon any ceasefire, stop negotiations and crack down on Israel's large Arab minority. This could kill all we've worked for in the Middle East. But many progressives in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) share our feelings -- and they desperately need our solidarity today.

Wherever extremists have triumphed, we have to organise to beat them. Many thought all hope was lost in the USA after the neo-conservatives' victory -- then progressives used the internet to come back from the wilderness, and achieved the unthinkable by putting Barack Obama in the White House.[2] In Israel today, the despair of the old peace camp opens up a powerful moment to build a fresh new voice against hatred and for peace.

Just $10,000 could help two young Israeli activists use the Avaaz model of internet organizing to reach and mobilise tens of thousands of other Israelis this year -- $5000 would buy billboards in Jerusalem to launch their first campaign with a splash. Follow this link to watch our shocking short video of Lieberman's extremist agenda -- and let's donate now to help a new generation in Israel urgently speak out for peace and change:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/change_in_israel

We have a strong network in Israel to work with already, with almost 10,000 Avaaz members and contacts with promising young organisers who are hungry for change. They just need our support to organise across divides, uniting Israel's scattered constituencies for peace and justice. Many Israelis supported our global campaign for a Gaza ceasefire and joined their voices with ours on climate change, Burma, Tibet and Zimbabwe -- now it's time for us to stand with them.

Even if they are in a minority at first, a strong progressive voice in Israel should make our efforts for the right kind of US and international diplomacy much more effective. We know the forces we're up against. But beneath the surface we often find Israeli majorities for peace, social justice and pragmatism. Before these elections, when Israel's government broke off talks and launched the Gaza offensive, a majority polled wanted to renew the ceasefire with Hamas instead, and we've seen broad support for a wider peace at many times.[3]

Lieberman's rise itself demonstrates how effective, targeted organising can shape Israel's path for ill -- now a new generation of Israelis need solidarity from us to mobilise against this extremism, and to advance the values and causes we share. Everyone who donates to help fund this Israeli organising effort will be kept informed with reports on its progress. Watch the short video of Lieberman's savage campaign now at the link below, and help support a new generation in Israel to organise for change:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/change_in_israel

With hope and determination,

Paul, Graziela, Ricken, Ben, Alice, Paula, Iain, Pascal, Milena, Brett and the whole Avaaz team

Sources:

1. "Key to who will govern Israel: Avigdor Lieberman", Christian Science Monitor (12 February 2009):
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0212/p01s04-wome.html

Ha'aretz: "Unite to block Lieberman's march on Jerusalem" (1 February 2009)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1060124.html

2. See this report from MoveOn.org on the impact of the online organising efforts they pioneered: http://s3.moveon.org/pdfs/moveon_postelectionreport_ah14.pdf

3. See this Hebrew University poll published in December 2008:
http://www.bicom.org.uk/background/opinion-polls/truman-psr-poll--16-december-2008

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08/25/08

Olympic Handshake Ads - Mobile Billboards NYC & SF

During the Beijing Olympics, Avaaz spread an Olympic message of peace and hope to Chinese diaspora communities in New York and San Francisco by running a series of mobile billboards. The ads were part of our Handshake campaign to spread a powerful, unambiguous message of peace, friendship and dialogue to the Olympics and countries around the world. The ads spent a few days in the Chinatowns of these cities and then drove around the city centres. Check out the photos, below:

08/22/08

Olympics handshake ads

In English (click image to download print-ready PDF):

Avaaz Olympic handshake ad - English

In Chinese (click image to download print-ready PDF):

Avaaz Olympic handshake ad - Chinese


Olympic Handshake Ads - The London Look-Walkers

On August 8, the opening day of the Beijing Olympics, Avaaz had a team of people walking on foot through central London, with billboards calling for meaningful dialogue from the Chinese on Darfur, Burma, and Tibet. It was part of our Handshake campaign to spread a powerful, unambiguous message of peace, friendship and dialogue to the Olympics and countries around the world. The Look-Walkers walked through Chinatown and then headed up to Trafalgar Square where the launch of the 2008 Olympics was being shown on jumbo Tv screens. Check out the photos, below:


08/14/08

Introducing the Avaaz handshake T-shirts

Due to popular demand we're pleased to announce Avaaz members can now buy our "Give peace a hand" T-shirts. We're selling them through Zazzle.com which gives you the chance to customise your shirt's colour and style. To get your shirt now, click on the image below!

**20% of the cost of your shirt will go towards Avaaz campaign efforts to make our world a better place.

08/ 8/08

The Hanshake Ads: Love China, Love Tibet, Darfur and Burma

These ads served as part of our Olympics handshake campaign which was launched ahead of the Beijing Olympics as a moment to bring global citizens together in the spirit of Olympic solidarity to call for progress on Tibet, Darfur and Burma. Prior to the games, the Chinese government still hasn't opened meaningful dialogue on Tibet or made progress on Burma and Darfur -- and global activists' messages were being lost in a firestorm of accusations about being anti-Chinese.

The handshake attempted to take the Olympic moment back with a powerful, unambiguous message of peace, friendship and dialogue. It began with the Dalai Lama, passing through the streets of London, and then it went online where hundreds of thousands of people joined in. Finally, the message was spread further around the world through a massive Olympic media campaign before the closing ceremonies. The ads appeared on billboards and in newspapers from San Francisco to London, Athens to Singapore.




Love China, Love Tibet:

The Handshake: Love China, Love Tibet (Various Publications, Aug 2008)


Love China, Love Darfur

The Handshake: Love China, Love Darfur (Various Publications, Aug 2008)


Love China, Love Burma/Myanmar

The Handshake: Love China, Love Burma/Myanmar (Various publications, Aug 2008)

06/ 4/08

The London Handshake - Give Peace a Hand!